Day 9 – Bern (2)

We continued our walking tour of Bern  in Marktgasse but the street name changes to Kramgasse.

8.  Kramgasse
Kramgasse meaning “Grocers Alley” has many shops.  There are three fountains  in this street: Kreuzgassbrunnen (built in 1778-79), Simsonbrunnen (built in 1527) and Zähringerbrunnen.
Kramgasse
Kreuzgassbrunnen
9.  Zähringer Fountain
Hans Hiltprand built this fountain in 1535.  It consists of a bear and the coat of arms of the house of Zähringen.  Berchtold von Zähringen was the founder of Bern.
Zähringer Fountain
10.  Albert Einstein's Home
Kramgasse 49 was the residence of Albert Einstein from 1903 to 1905 and he wrote his “theory of relativity” here.  We did not go into the museum but continued walking. (And the rain stopped)
Albert Einstein's Home
11.Samson Fountain
The fountain was built in 1544 by Hans Gieng and represents the biblical story of Samson killing a lion.
Samson Fountain
12.  Gerechtigkeitsbrunnen or Justice Fountain
The street name changes again to Gerechtigkeitgasse. Here we found the copy of the Justice fountain by Hans Gieng.  The original 1543 fountain was vandalized in 1986 and we saw it in the museum.  The statue is of Lady Justice holding the sword of justice and a balance with blindfolded eyes.
Gerechtigkeitgasse
Justice Fountain
It was about 12:30 and we had to speed walk back to the station to meet Erik and Ariane.  We went shopping for a birthday gift for my dad and decided on a Swiss watch.  After shopping Ariane wanted to show us the Bundeshaus and we decided to change the order of the tour.  We walked pass Bundesplatz and the Swiss National Bank to the Bundeshaus.
Bundesplatz
Swiss National Bank
Location: Berne, Switzerland

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